Three people who lost their eyesight during childhood have regained much of their vision back after undergoing gene therapy treatment in their eyes, the BBC reported.
One woman who underwent the treatment was delighted to finally see her children’s faces.
The success of the therapy in the three patients raises hopes that gene therapy could be used to treat a number of eye conditions, a UK expert said.
The patients suffer from a rare disease called Leber’s Congenital Amaurosis (LC) which is caused by defective gene encoding of a protein needed for sight. The condition emerges in the first few months of life and severely impairs a person’s vision. Other symptoms include involuntary eye movement and bad night vision.
Several research teams throughout the world are starting clinical trials of this gene therapy treatment to try to help restore sight in the blind.
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